1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stage apparatus which includes a movable stage supported to be freely movable in a specific plane, and a camera shake correction apparatus of a camera using the stage apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A stage apparatus which makes it possible to move an electrical board (movable stage) that supports an image pickup device freely relative to a stationary support board (i.e., not only to move the electrical board in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction that are parallel to the electrical board and orthogonal to each other but also to rotate the electrical board in a plane (reference plane) in which the electrical board lies) so that the effects of hand shake (camera shake) including rotational deflections can be counteracted has been achieved and proposed by the assignee of the present invention in Japanese patent applications Nos. 2004-169376, 2004-172314, 2004-277731 and 2004-277879.
In the stage apparatuses disclosed in these Japanese patent publications, the electrical board is provided thereon with a pair of drive coils: an X-axis direction drive coil for driving the electrical board in the X-axis direction and a Y-axis direction drive coil for driving the electrical board in the Y-axis direction. By adjusting the magnitude of an electric current supplied to each of these two drive coils, an X-axis direction driving force, a Y-axis direction driving force or a rotational driving force is given to the electrical board to move the image pickup device in directions to compensate camera shake (linear deflections/rotational deflections) by such driving forces.
In the stage apparatuses disclosed in the aforementioned patent publications, the imaging surface of the image pickup device must be positioned orthogonal to an optical axis of a photographing optical system at all times. However, these stage apparatuses are not provided with any device for adjusting the angle of inclination of the imaging surface relative to the optical axis and the axial position of the imaging surface in the optical axis direction in an easy manner nor for maintaining such an angle and axial position in an easy manner upon having been adjusted to a desired angle and a desired axial position, respectively.